The Zonta Club of Brisbane Metro Breakfast Inc, Australia, participated in the 16 Days of Activism in December with a fellowship walk. Zontians, wearing orange Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women shirts, walked around Brisbane City to raise awareness of gender-based violence. The walking route included important suffrage sites in the city.

George Tityukov, deputy mayor of Plovdiv for “Sport, youth activities and social policy”, in cooperation with representatives of Zonta Club Plovdiv and “Gender alternatives” produced an exhibition on the Main Street of Plovdiv entitled “NO to violence against women.”

The initiative is part of a global campaign, which runs from November 25 to December 10, targeting the various forms of violence against women. The aim is to pay attention and give voice to take concrete action to eradicate the problem of domestic violence against women and girls. This is done through prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of perpetrators.

Vladimira Tracheva of Zonta Club Plovdiv said that Bulgaria is among the eight countries from the Council of Europe which has not signed the Istanbul Convention:

“We, Zonta Club Plovdiv and “Gender alternatives”, want to alleviate the issue via an e-petition to say “NO to violence, YES to the signing of the Istanbul Convention”, she explained.

Plovdiv has free services for victims of domestic violence, advice from lawyers, social workers and psychologists in different programs working with adults and children.

Anyone wishing to sign the petition can do so at the following address: http://grajdanskapeticia.com/pview.aspx?pi=BG31547

The Zonta Club of Pontiac North Oakland club had a display in the lobby of their County Courthouse of Oakland County, Michigan, USA for the duration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

The display featured 11 pair of shoes representing the deaths from domestic violence in the county during 2014. The club also shared on their club Facebook page, thepixelproject “16 ways to…” relate to gender violence each day. i.e. http://16days.thepixelproject.net/16-safe-and-creative-way…/

Over the 16 days, viewership increased on their social media. The club page had 2,172 views, an average of 135 per day. During that time, theyincreased our page likes. There is no quantitative data for the display, but the building was open 8am – 5pm, Monday – Friday. The display was visible to the public, law enforcement, and attorneys throughout the entire county who use this facility frequently.

The Zonta Club of Warwick Inc held multiple events during the 16 Days of Activism. Club members provided help to Warwick Safe Haven Inc, their local domestic violence assistance group. There they catered and gave general assistance at an information night. Additionally, they provided a screening of a film about Rosie Barrie, Australian of the Year, and domestic violence issues.

The club also hosted a breakfast to fund raise and advocate against domestic violence in their community. Keynote speakers included police officers and a White Ribbon advocate. Over 150 people attended from multiple organizations and they networked between groups for further action. Attendees were challenged to report all violence when observed.

Lastly, on 10 December, the club collaborated with the Warwick Peace Project and Warwick Safe Haven to hold a vigil and a march from town hall to Leslie Park, advocating against domestic violence. The CEO of the council, councilors, police officers and members of the community all attended the ceremony. A police spokesperson and the CEO of the council addressed the more than 60 people who attended the march.

Read more on the Warwick Daily News website.

The Zonta Club of Brisbane East Inc’s 2015 Campaign commenced with a radio interview on national radio and was followed by an afternoon tea launch by Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO of the “orange” ladies – 16 wooden silhouettes – which were the strategically placed in locations to spread the message of Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women.

Safety Cards for distribution across the region were also launched.  These provided emergency phone numbers for women experiencing domestic or family violence.

The club also distributed Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women car bumper stickers and provided daily updates via Facebook and Twitter with statistical information on the extent and breath of violence against women and children and its impact on the community.

The club was congratulated in the State Parliament for its efforts during the 16 Days of Activism and also sponsored the training of facilitators to introduce a program LoveBites in seven high schools in 2016.  The program targets 15-17 year olds and covers violence, sexual assault and respectful relationships.

The Zonta Club of Gaylord, Michigan, USA, supported the Women’s Resource of Northern Michigan during its Harvest Food and Supply Drive during the 16 days of activism. There, the supplied collection boxes for donations and non-perishable foods, paper products, personal care items and other items that the resource center receives. Collection boxes were out at four public areas from 25 November through 10 December. The Women’s Resource Center Safe Home operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provides services to domestic abuse victims at no charge. In 2014, they provided 2,502 nights of shelter and more than 7,500 meals to survivors of violence and their children in the surrounding area, many of whom arrived without any belongings other than the clothes they wore.

The Zonta Club of Gaylord offers an annual scholarship through the Women’s Resource Center to provide help with education expenses to a survivor of violence. The funds provide anything from transportation, child care, books and tuition. The club also worked with the Women’s Resource Center to establish the Clothesline Project which highlights the personal feelings of women who have been sexually assaulted.

Along with the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), the Zonta Club of Bombay III hosted a program on 4 December as part of the 16 Days of Activism and Zonta Says No to Violence against Women campaign. Approximately 70 SNEHA volunteers–all from different ethnic backgrounds speaking different languages–gathered to share their stories of how they are making a difference in Dharavi & other slums of Mumbai.

Volunteers from 12 SNEHA groups shared success stories regarding gender-based violence with the Zonta Club’s members and president, Firuza Sena. District 25 Governor Mahazaver Dalal was also in attendance, and complimented the volunteers for their conviction, commitment and courage to step out for their rights, to spread awareness and to take action with a positive approach.

Zontians handed out orange bags with the message, “to stop violence, as Today’s Girl is Tomorrow’s Mother, who will nurture Humanity of Tomorrow,” to the workshop’s attendees.

To take advocacy from awareness into action was the main goal of the 2015 Zonta Says NO-activity of Zonta Club of Mainz, Germany.

The club joined forces with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a globally active German organization promoting democracy, societal education and pluralism, which provided the platform of a forum on “Combating Sexual Violence against Women and Girls” with focus on rape in wartime.

The forum had three parts. In the first part, Maria von Welser, a well known German author and journalist, introduced the audience to her new book “Where Women Don’t Count”, accompanied by a documentation on her field visits to Afghanistan, India and the Congo, as she said, the three most dangerous countries for women. The pictures from her trip underlined the alarming and worrisome report of what she had experienced, all of which constitute severe violations of women’s human rights.

In the second part, professionals from Women Shelter, UN Women Nat. Com. Germany, the 24-hours hotline of the city of Mainz and experienced Zonta members discussed in a panel, root causes of violence against women and domestic violence, and the female’s subordinate status in society, with focus on refugee women who had suffered all kinds of physically and sexually abuse during their escape and in the refugee camps. Groundbreaking international instruments were discussed like the UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, as well as the UN Resolution 1820, which notes that rape and other forms of sexual violence constitute war crimes and will be prosecuted.

The third part of the forum featured the “Istanbul Convention and its significance in the fight of VAW. Embedded in this report was the open petition of all German Zonta Clubs during the 16 Days of Activism, which urges the German Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention in the current legislation period. Papers were prepared and handed out to the audience for signature with impressive results. Another great effect of this forum was gaining visibility and raising awareness of Zonta International amongst the audience and in the media, networking with like minded organizations for the same cause and the generous donations to the ZISVAW Project “Voices against Violence”. The petition result with all collected signatures will be handed over to the German Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

The Zonta Club of Brampton-Caledon marked the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with daily email blasts with facts and other information regarding Violence Against Women:

1. Day 1 – Women are 11 times more likely than men to be victims of sexual offences.
2. Day 2 – 5 Things We Can All Do to Stop Violence Against Women.
3. Day 3 – Women are almost four times more likely than men to experience intimate partner violence.
4. Day 4 – The RCMP reports that nearly 1,200 Aboriginal women and girls have been murdered or gone missing in Canada.
5. Day 5 – Data suggest that one-quarter of female students in college or university have experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault; 90 percent of these students knew their attacker.
6. Day 6 – Women are three times more likely than men to experience criminal harassment.
7. Day 7 – Aboriginal women are three times more likely to report experiencing violence than non-Aboriginal women.
8. Day 8 – Young women between the ages of 15 and 24 experience the highest rates of violence.
9. Day 9 – Since 1980, the number of non-Aboriginal female victims of homicide has been declining, while the number of Aboriginal female victims has remained relatively constant.
10. Day 10 – Eight out of ten victims of intimate partner violence are women.
11. Day 11 – Aboriginal women are over-represented among Canada’s murdered women; they make up 4% of the female population but represent 16 percent of all murdered women.
12. Day 12 – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
13. Day 13 – Spousal violence against women in Canada costs an estimated $4.8 billion per year.
14. Day 14 – 90 percent of sexual assaults against women by a non-spousal accused are never reported to police.
15. Day 15 – Women know their sexual attacker in three-quarters of incidents.
16. Day 16 – The last day of the 16 Days of Activism/Human Rights Day.

The Zonta Club of Hong Kong hosted a project called “Forging Ahead in Peace and Harmony” for the 16 Days of Activism. Throughout the Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women campaign, 250 women volunteers and target clients attended Mutual Help workshops, 450 women attended educational talks, 550 women and families visited exhibition programs at five locations in the community, and 220 participants attended workshops on awareness, early recognition and intervention of violence. The Club hosted two Advocacy and Service days, where a club member who is an Accredited Family Mediator shared how to achieve and maintain harmony in marriage, followed by more than 30 hours of counseling sessions, and a video presentation promoted awareness of violence against women. Additionally, 150 women attended eight “Dance with Confidence” workshops and 120 attended eight sessions of Singing in Harmony music therapy sessions, which included African drumming classes and a performance.